Two months later, we’re still coming to terms with the death of Anthony Bourdain, the chef, author, and voraciously fascinated/fascinating cultural explorer. Bourdain held a unique place in the pop-culture landscape, taking on the role of everybody’s smartest, most smart-ass friend, the guy who was equally comfortable telling you about the coolest spot to eat—anywhere—and hearing about the one that he was already ready to fall in love with next.
For the last several years, Bourdain’s brand was associated strongly with CNN—the home of Parts Unknown, the final iteration of his long-running series of travel shows—so it seems kind of fitting that the network will soon be doing a deep dive on the man’s life. Vanity Fair reports that the channel is developing a documentary about Bourdain’s life, and not one of those skimpy, hour-long TV treatments, either. In line with a model the company has used before, CNN Films is developing a feature-length Bourdain documentary that’ll run in theaters, before ultimately making its TV debut on CNN proper.
Amy Entelis, a vice president for CNN, discussed the motivations for the doc: “As well as we knew Tony—because he did reveal himself in the series—there was still a hunger to know more about him, and to honor his work and celebrate him. The documentary format became one of the more obvious ways to go.” The film is expected to begin making the festival rounds some time in 2019; meanwhile, the 12th and final season of Parts Unknown will air this fall on CNN.